UPDATE: Best Buy has confirmed the Nexus S will sell for $529 at full retail price or $199 with 2-year contract on T-Mobile.

PREVIOUS: Samsung just announced the Nexus S and Google’s official site is now live. No price point has been revealed, but the Nexus S will on sale in the U.S. on December 16th at Best Buy and December 20 at Carphone Warehouse stores in the UK.

The Nexus S will be sold unlocked and should work on any GSM carrier. However, it appears that the U.S. model only supports the 3G bands for T-Mobile (Tri-band HSPA: 900, 2100, 1700).

Unfortunately, the Nexus S that got announced is the single-core version and not the rumored dual-core model that was in testing. Essentially, the Nexus S is quite similar to the Galaxy S with the addition of Android 2.3, near-field communications (NFC) support, and a front-facing camera.

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Taylor is the founder of Android and Me. He resides in Dallas and carries the Samsung Galaxy S 4 and HTC One as his daily devices. Ask him a question on Twitter or Google+ and he is likely to respond. | Ethics statement

Yeah this is agony. I really want a Nexus device so the carriers can’t pollute it. I also really want dual core. I don’t even really need to change the phone I have but it looks so sleek and dark and beautiful and I must have it.

Wasn’t there a comment on here that someone spoke with a T-Mobile rep recently who said the Nexus S would be single core in Dec and a dual version launched early next year? I’m sure Goggle will want to keep that VERY quiet if it’s true.

Because it has a Gyro and NFC chip that the Galaxy’s don’t have. Because its a Google branded device running the stock OS it will get OS updates on launch day, not 6 months later. Because you can about it straight up and not be tied in to a contract or locked to a carrier

I like my N1 and the fresh updates but I’m not buying that trash.
Plastic?
No dual core
No microsd
No hdmi
No way.
When the N1 dropped it was the top device spec wise and it tied new devices for awhile afterward. This device will be inferior in less than a month. I feel abandoned. I will just hold on to my N1 for awhile. I don’t want to pay for antiquated hardware or an antiquated OS.

@Taylor Do you think this phone is worth all the hype now that it is revealed it has no dual core? After the article you wrote about why we would want dual cores in the future I really hoped this would have one as well. Do you think anyone who gets this phone will be missing out on a lot in the future (ex: unreal engine games, honeycomb, etc.)? I really want this phone…but no dual core is a big disappointment.

P.S: I am locked to AT&T so i am assuming this phone will work only with EDGE correct?

But NO HSPA+!? Larger battery, but LESS talk-time?! Same 512MB of RAM?!

I am SO disappointed right now. I could have gotten past any of the above hardware deficiencies, but I refuse to pay $500+ for a phone that doesn’t support HSPA+ on T-Mobile. That’s just effin’ STEWPIT.

Indeed, to me it appears there is no doub that this is a plastic phone. I also have to wonder about the screen. Is this curved glass or a hardedn plastic like most other phone screens???

I’m thinking I’m going to stick to my N1, and I’d be shocked if nearly all N1 users didn’t do the same (unless they’ve got $$ to burn). This is NOT a major jump from the N1 by any stretch of the imagination. Plus we N1 owners will be getting 2.3 in the coming days (if not hours). And combined with the fact that the T2 processors will be out next year, it should be a no brainer to hold off on this.

I think ill stay with my Nexus One. The Nexus S doesn’t have dual core nor HSPA+. I could see others getting this just cuz they will get the first updates but ill use my money for something else. Most of the updates for 2.3 seem weak also, I don’t. If its cuz I’ve had 2.2 for a while and the updates seem similar. I do like the new copy and paste feature.

At this point, I believe that the Nexus One is a better phone than Nexus S.
with the exclusion of Android 2.3 (which Nexus One should get shortly) and the front facing camera. Nexus One has dual mics, made by HTC and long proven track of reliability.
I think Google betrayed their followers to make a buck and released a device that’s middle of the road at best.
How would you compare Nexus S to phones like G2 and mytouch 4G?
At this point I would rather have Mytouch 4G. It is easy to root and mod. and it supports 4G.

I’ve got both an i9000 Galaxy S and an Nexus One. I have to respectfully disagree about the Nexus One being better than the Nexus S (or any Galaxy S (Vibrant, Captivate, Epic 4G). You can make arguments about this particular feature or that (dual mics, led flash, etc), but the true beauty of the Galaxy S phones is the Samoled screen. It blows away the regular amoled screen of the Nexus One in my opinion, and ti’s actually easy to see outside, whereas my Nexus One is impossible to use in sunlight. I also have issues with the touchscreen on the Nexus One that the Galaxy S phones don’t have.

The N1 is still a great phone compared to most out on the market, but far from the best in my opinion.

I agree with you though, the MyTouch 4G is much more compelling than the Nexus S. It’s screen is pretty darn good, and the 4G is a big plus if you can tether it.

Ok,
That was a little bit exaturated. I was trying to make a point
I agree with you. But the nexas s is still a big disappointment.
But didn’t nexus one originally had the amoled screen?
I guess at this point the question is ; are you going to root your phone? If yes you should get mytouch 4G. If not and you don’t care about speed get the nexus

You guys are basically answering each others questions. It is a Galaxy S body with a little bit of updated specs and renamed. I have already buried Samsung (Behold 2) so whatever they come out with now is trash to me

WELL, one candidate removed from short list, anyway! Side question: can Google really be all that interested in the handset market with the release of this obsolete-in-one-month product (AND it’s a SAMSUNG?)

Wow, they only upped the Nexus One specs a little bit? I thought, as the Nexus One more so ushered the era of 1Ghz processors, that the Nexus S would have at least gone up to 1,2Ghz or as everyone expected, ushered in the era of the dual-core processor. As a Nexus One owner, I’m glad I still have my N1 and I’m not jealous of the NS at all. Aside from maybe the gyroscope and the NFC system. Other than that, pretty much Google killed all of my expectations for (possible) future Nexus phones. This one isn’t the flagship it’s claimed to be, in my opinion…

Why are you all surprised? This had fail written all over it from the moment it was announced that Samsuck was making it. You can’t expect anything worthwhile to come from them. It’s like planting an orange and expecting an apple. It just doesn’t happen…

huge disappointment. why bother with a very soon to be irrelevant processor? i just cannot see the logic here. what does this offer besides the front facing camera that my YEAR old nexus one doesn’t? the only answers i can come to is that it provides developers a phone to work which provides the front facing camera, and nfc functionality. but, what developer is going to bother waisting money on the nexus s when it doesn’t offer equivalent technical specifications to the phones about to be released which have the dual core processors? that is a huge hardware difference! I’m so pissed. google really half assed this. i hope this isn’t an indication of things to come.

1. ppl with no or very old android phones (G1) may consider buying it since gingerbread is right for christmas times

2. apple does update OS quickly but its closed source (you have to pay for most apps), so you gotta try think as google does. they have to make money too, one way or another. WP7 and Symbian wanted to make money this way too, but they are not even close. New torch is a piece of crap (like Dell streak with donut) but lots of ppl are crazy about it. They will be ppl crazy about this phone with 2.3, no matter which manufacturer made it.

No dual core AND no HSPA+? I would have been ok with one of those being left out… especially since HSPA+ speeds, while nice, aren’t all that noticeable in real-life testing (based on my experience comparing my gf’s G2 with my N1). I really would have liked to see the Orion in this though…

I’m not sure if I’ll buy this anymore. Certainly won’t be pre-ordering or buying sight unseen like I did with the N1.

Once again, Google makes a Android Mistake.. This phone is going down the dumpster with the N1… Why would i buy this when i already have a Vibrant? For a FFC? pff, yeah right.. Single Core 1ghz Hummingbird Processor? Already have it. 4 inch S.Amoled display? Got it.. Android 2.3? XDA Anyone… I’Il wait For the HTC Dual Cores thank u! Samsung is terrible at updates and Fixes.. Sammy shouldnt be in the Android Phone Business… Phone does look sleek though!

WOW WHAT A FLOP….To bad they didn’t stay with HTC to make this device….I will gladly pass on this one. I am HTC 100% nothing else and I will wait for HTC to come out with there duel core version in connection with Qualcom….HTC EVO ROCKS ALWAYS WILL

I thinks the nexus s is great, becuase it is a google phone developers will start to take advantage of the sgx 540 (gpu), it can also be used to accelerate task that a cpu would normaly do such as flash.

Thanks a lot samsung for nothing . when the nexus one was release it was a flag ship phone for google. way better than the g1 . It broke ground in the android platform . To call this nexus a sequel to a great phone like the htc nexus one is a disappointment in ever way. To carry the nexus name it should have been a dual core ,hdmi 1080 p and a better screen . Im glad i wont be in line for this. Im hoping the nexus 3 will be a htc phone and on every carrier .

Detox, this is GOOGLE’s phone, not Samsung’s. Blame Google. The Galaxy S phones are still about the best you can get on the market if you’re not worried about 4G speeds. This is a very small step up, or more like sideways, from the current crop of Galaxy S phones in the US and abroad, but it’s hardly a disaster. Disappointing, yes. Fucking everything up and disgracing Android? Hardly.

It’s still a big WTF moment for Google, though? With much nicer hardware and faster network speed devices starting to appear, why are they settling for a phone that’s derivative of an 7 month old design. The Galaxy S phones aren’t much newer than the Nexus One itself (January vs April/May IIRC).

Come on guys! Does ANYBODY remember a certain “Other” phone launching a “3″ and then a “3g” version? This could very well be the case here. Google isn’t done amazing us yet! Sure this phone isn’t overwhelming to those of us with top-tier Androids but, we aren’t the only ones buying phones. Android fans coming off of older, crappier devices will eat this phone up. There rest of us will wait (impatiently) until next year and get new top-tier phones when they arrive…

Intro seemed like an long payless shoe commercial lol, I really hope HTC has the real Nexus 2 coming out next month or even in Feb. I’ll wait, this isn’t anything good enough to make me wanna drop my nexus one or buy into a new contract. Dual core, FFC (not really needed but….), vanilla android HTC would be a perfect combo. Throw in a 5row qwerty and its a no brainer, but thats unlikely

FFC? Who cares, I wouldn’t use it anyway, I pick my nose and scratch my ass like everyone else does when they’re not being watched, I don’t need people seeing that while I’m on the phone

No 4G? WTF is that? This is an absolute deal breaker. It doesn’t matter if the difference between 3g is hardly noticeable like some have reported. T-Mobile, the carrier they make you contract with, just upgraded their system to support faster speeds. Samsung/Google not considering this, from a marketing standpoint at the very least, was VERY shortsighted of them.

No Dual Core? I had no idea that phones were going in the direction of dual core processors. But if that’s the way the market is headed and the Nexus brand is associated with being the Flagship of google phones, you would expect that when a Nexus brand is released that it would be made to impress. This phone seems like it was rushed to market to make it in time for the Christmas season.

I can only assume that Nexus is now like the Jordan line of nike shoes. You have the real expensive ones, and then the less expensive ones. This is one of the lower end versions of google’s “Jordan” line in my opinion.

I am very dissappointed in the specs for this device, I could not justify spending the extra money for a phone that I think looks worse than the HTC design of the original and doesn’t have enough new features.

I would prefer an HTC product, I don’t like the plastic look of this Samsung product. If it had dual core and 4G I’d upgrade.

Epic still hasn’t received an OFFICIAL froyo release and now gingerbread going out in a few weeks. Will us epic owners ever see gingerbread? Hahahaha only at a bakery lol. Btw nexus s will FAIL just like the nexus one, why because its only on ONE CARRIER. You’ll see.

Now that Samsung and Google are working together they will be releasing updates for the Nexus S when a new OS of Android comes out I just hope Samsung does the same for the other Galaxy S phones like the Captivate, Fascinate, Epic, and the Vibrant. I hope they do this because Im a Samsung Vibrant owner and I still want my 2.2 Froyo but now that 2.3 Gingerbread is released now I hope Samsung skips Froyo and moves on to give us the Galaxy S owners Gingerbread instead of Froyo. Sprint already gave the Epic Froyo a couple of days ago but I dont want Froyo for the Vibrant I want Gingerbread who’s with me!

Before my vibrant or galaxy s came many said nothing on android will take advantage of the hummungbird processor because it was to powetful processing 90 milliion triangle pre sec and for the most part that os true so what are all you guy worrieid about dual core frist of all the other manfactures need a dual core just to even come close to hummingbirds power humming bird processor are 3x more powerful than anything on the market even htc new second gen snapdragons sec of all daul core will only fuction with froyo or less

You guys are crazy! This phone is way better then the nexus one! The sgs has flaws (touch wiz, gps, no led flash) other wise its the best phone out… This phone rights all sammys wrongs and deserves the nexus badge imo… But I have to admit the nexus “s” sure sounds like 3g “s” to me… Fingers crossed htc gets the call for the n2 along with nvidia!

Well, of course it’s better than the N1! Just, with January on the horizon, and dual-core goodness to be expected quite soon, in addition to a bunch of other cool features that those DC handsets will boast, this just seems like kind of a letdown.

I love stock Android and the awesome updates pushed directly by Google to the Nexus family (if you can call it that) that are offered by the NS.

However, in this day and age, I think to unveil a totally “revamped” hardware design needs to include a lot more features than this garbo.

Not that this is bad, it’s just not enough to compete with other Android handsets.

I personally, cannot WAIT for dual-core handsets to come in from CES this January.

Also, I’m partially biased since I’m tied to AT&T, even though I’m guessing I could still buy that unlocked version or whatever, I’d much rather wait for the Olympus, which appears to have twice as cool hardware, and not cost a fortune on my carrier.

I’m only sad because I don’t want a shitty skin on top of Android, AND, I would love to have gingerbread.

WOW….
Yet another Samsung Galaxy S phone…….
Dual core huh?……
No?……
Well it must be made of the best materials right?…..
No?…….
So then what’s so special about it that it can be called a Nexus?
Curved glass?…..Haha real funny…..

What happened? I expected a big revolution, and it appears another galaxy S !!!!!??
At this rate I’ll grow old without showing the expected smartphone.
I’m hoping the dual core and thereby bring a great revolution in everything else
However went public too timidly the new version of Android, associated with a smartphone
I think it’ll be another nexus one in two or three months is already outdated
It was better to have spared resources and to launch the product in its time that we are all waiting
I understand that it can be quest strategy for liquidating the old stock..

From what iam here dual core chipset not compatible with 2.3 which is why samsung didnt put one in the n s and a hummingbird processor is best in class tech blow 2nd gen snapdagon out the water what wrong.with you people even when you get a dual core a quad core is just around the corner and you be right back on all the forrum bitchin that your shinny new dual core phone is opsilite u cant keep up with technology so why bother you think google would put a processor in their flagship ns if I wasnt the best the galaxy s was a nexus killer due to it suproir processor so it only right it take it right full place on the throne